John Dennis Murphey, AIA, used to specify his exterior walls the way everyone else did—with 2x4 studs, fiberglass insulation, sheathing, and so on—but very little about his walls is the same anymore. Today he designs high-performing exterior walls that ar

Any product junkie knows many innovative developments happen overseas. Another import now making incremental inroads in this country is the ventilated façade—a wall system many architects and building scientists cite as one of the most effective ways to clad a building.